The Clippers take on the fiery Toronto Raptors at home as they try to start another winning streak after their victory on Monday against the Suns.
Game Information
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
When: 7:30 PM PT
How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Raptors: Immanuel Quickley – RJ Barrett – Scottie Barnes – Pascal Siakam – Chris Boucher
Clippers: James Harden – Paul George – Terance Mann – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac
Injuries
Raptors: Jakob Poeltl Out (Ankle), Christian Koloko Out (Illness), Otto Porter Jr. Doubtful (Knee)
Clippers: Moussa Diabate Out (Hand)
The Big Picture
The Clippers rebounded from their awful loss to the Lakers with a great win against the Suns. They are holding steady at the 4th seed in the Western Conference and have moved up to 5th in Net Rating. Their defense has slipped a bit, but their offense has been potent, and their core lineups – the starters and the Powell Rangers with Norm instead of Mann – have been fantastic. The other plus is that the Clippers have remained more or less healthy throughout the season, with even Plumlee back, though he’s out of the rotation still for now. Their cohesion and chemistry should only keep improving from here, so even if injuries (knock on wood) do pick up, the Clippers can hopefully keep up their homecourt-advantage pace.
The Antagonist
The Raptors are coming off a brutal loss last night to the Lakers, where they were done in by the size of Anthony Davis and biased refereeing. They will probably be tired on the second night of a back to back, but they will also be hungry and fired up, especially after coach Darka Rajakovic had their backs in an excoriating postgame critique of the officiating. The Clippers need to be on their guard, since the Raptors have looked a lot better since acquiring Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, who have added some dynamism and juice to their offense.
Notes
Taking Advantage at Center: Jakob Poeltl is out for the Raptors, meaning the Raptors will start Thaddeus Young, Jontay Porter, or Chris Boucher at center. All three guys have some NBA level skills and can hurt the Clippers, but none has the height or weight to bother Ivica Zubac. The Clippers don’t feed Zu in the post much, but they should do so in this one. Additionally, Zu should be able to feast on the offensive glass and finish in the pick and roll. Poeltl isn’t amazing, but he’s a decent defensive big and has the size to match Zu. With him out, the Clippers’ odds of winning go up by a sizable amount.
Terance Mann’s Shooting Trending Up: Terance Mann is still shooting just 26.3% from three for the season, but his shooting is, finally, regressing towards the mean. He’s hit 10 of 18 threes over the past five games, which is over 50%. Small sample size, of course, but the confidence is back for Terance, and that’s huge. The next step will be to hammer home that he needs to shoot threes whenever he’s open, and sometimes even when he’s lightly contested. The volume is just as important as the percentages, and his average of 3.2 threes per game is not enough. Keep shooting Terance!
